Since one of our very favorite Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and teacher gifts are custom photo books, we thought it was about time to take a fresh look at our favorite custom photo book companies. There are now so many out there, it can be hard to choose one service over another. That’s where we come in! We’ve researched and tried dozens of them, and we’ve narrowed down 13 of our absolute favorites, with a few details on what makes each one special. So, if you’ve got a few thousand photos sitting on your laptop like we do, it might be time to...

It’s the age-old parenting conundrum: what to do with all that artwork? Between school projects, art they bring home from summer camp, or just creative time they spend around my kitchen table, I end up with way more art than I can reasonably keep stored. So, I’ve been scouring the Internet, looking for some creative ways to display kids’ artwork for a time — and what to do with all of it when we’re done. Related: 34 of the coolest lunch boxes and bags | Back to School Guide 2016 1. Store it digitally and display as a photo book. I’ve gotten in...

If your little camper is heading off to sleepaway camp this summer, possibly for the first time (sniff), you’ll likely receive from the camp a long list of all the essentials to pack — extra socks, bug repellent, water bottles, headlamps. But, on top of all those must-haves (and they really are), we think that a few special items that connect them to home can help make the transition from bed to bunk a little easier. We spoke to our experienced sleepaway camp parents around here, and put together 7 of our favorite ideas for sleepaway camp essentials that help stave off homesickness and ensure the transition...

So many dads in our lives are awesome, plain and simple. So we are always looking for meaningful Father’s Day gifts that say thanks from the bottom of our hearts. Of course, our very favorite gifts tend to be those personalized ones that really show Dad just how much he’s loved and appreciated. While finger paintings and poems from the kids do the trick, there’s always something special about custom photo gifts for Father’s Day, whether for his desk, bedside table, or the living room wall. That’s why we’re excited to welcome back one of our very favorite partners, Artifact Uprising. If you don’t...

Have you ever wished someone else would just take your camera roll and turn it into a gorgeous custom photo album? Me too. And, we’re in luck. The relatively new service, Tweed Wolf does it all and beautifully — and just in time for Mother’s Day gifts, too. Related: A comparison of our 11 favorite custom photo book services. Even though I have developed a pretty good habit of going through my camera roll every week or so to delete all those whoops-wrong-angle, child-scowling-not-smiling photos, I still have nearly a thousand keepers just from the last year alone. I presume I’m not the only one who gets...

Here are 5 of our favorite tech picks this week from Cool Mom Tech. Look what you might have missed! 1. You guys, this car charger is genius! 2. A fantastic new educational website for kids you’ll want to bookmark. 3. Our new favorite app for kids, especially if yours love animals! 4. We’re loving this app that curates your digital photos and turns them into beautiful monthly magazines. 5. A sneak peek at the new emoji, coming soon. Whoo!...

As big-time book lovers here, we’ve learned that a love of reading is acquired and not something kids are necessarily born with, like the color of their eyes or their uncanny inability to sleep past 6 AM on a Saturday. So we love putting together tips for parents on ways to get kids excited about reading — and ideally, keep them reading — especially now that summer is here and we all get a little more lax about things like that. Plus, our bookshelves do tend to have some stiff competition with all that extra daylight after dinner. One of our top ideas,...

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, you may be like us, thinking hm, I have 8 bazillion amazing photos on my computer and my smart phone — maybe I can finally do something with them? Like say turning them into some really cool but affordable photo gifts for Mom or Grandma. That’s where Pinhole Press comes in, a family-run photo gift company we’ve loved and supported for many years now. Which is why we’re so happy to welcome back them back as a sponsor. They’ve got no shortage of wonderfully spectacular but still affordable keepsake photo gift ideas for Mother’s Day, all...

We’ve always said that some of our favorite Mother’s Day gifts are personalized, and well, you can’t get more personalized than photos of your own kids and family. Of course, not all photo gifts are created equal. (Sorry, badly printed photo mugs.) That’s where Artifact Uprising comes in, a wonderful small company that we — and our readers! — have truly loved even before they became our newest sponsor. And we are so thrilled to continue to support them. These are folks who are driven by the belief that everyone has a story to tell, and we couldn’t agree...

Here are 5 of our favorite tech picks this week from Cool Mom Tech, in case you missed them. Well, now you won’t! 1. Who said LEGOs were just for kids? 2. Gorgeous photo books in a couple of clicks. So smart. 3. Clever tips for freeing up storage space on your gadgets. 4. Calling all busy parents (isn’t that all parents?): Learn a new skill or just get some creativity back in your life with this awesome website. 5. We can’t believe everything this smart mattress cover does. Whoa. The future is here....

Photo gifts for baby showers can be a win even before the little one arrives. It’s just so personal and thoughtful, and hey, if you’re going to go off the registry, might as well really go off the registry. So we’ve looked around to find some of the most creative photo gift ideas out there. You know, the ones so sweet they’re destined to bring tears to the eyes of the guest of honor (with a little help of those pregnancy hormones). Of course, as with any photo gift, these require a little bit of lead time to get ready before...

We are the first to admit that we get so caught up in getting gifts for others (and recommending them for you all!) that sometimes, we forget to devote the time to our own memory-making keepsake gifts. One great idea that Kristen puts to use every year: once the holiday craziness has died down, she hits the photo book sites (some of which offer great post-Christmas discounts) and makes an end-of-year family photo book. That way she can actually include all of those special Christmas morning and New Year’s Eve photos which never make it into holiday photo book gifts....

This is the time of year when I know it’s time to start thinking about putting together my yearly photo books but I dread looking at my iPhoto files– because 4,589 photos is a lot to wade through. But I’ve found some photo book services that help you to build great-looking photo books easily, quickly, and affordably. Some even do it for you. And the best part: They’re all under $30. I buy photo books as gifts so I can document our family’s year together (and because admittedly I’m terrible at scrapbooking), but also because they’re perfect for so many people: Aunts...

We have known Pinhole Press for a while now as a great option for high-quality photo books and gifts with a modern design aesthetic, and now they’re branching out into the world of hip baby gifts with their Oh Baby! Personalized Baby Gift Boxes. I’m considering it my new go-to gift for friends who are expecting, it’s just that cool. Even cooler, they’re great for new dads too. No pink diaper bags or breast pumps here. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that.) – Don’t miss a great free shipping offer below – The presentation is incredibly impressive; just the box...

In case you missed them, here are 5 of our most popular cool tech picks from Cool Mom Tech this past week. Enjoy! 1. This is a genius app your kid’s teacher needs to get stat. 2. If you’ve ever dropped your smart phone then you need this very smart case. 3. Don’t shop online again without these three money-saving browser extensions installed. 4. Looking to purchase a computer for your child? Here’s a helpful shopping guide. 5. A new photo management and storing service that’s blowing us away....

Obsessed with Pinterest as we are? Follow us! Then find cool pins like these from our site and beyond. 1. The awesome boots we’re coveting when we start to wean off sandals. 2. It’s a healthy back to school snack idea, but we want to eat it too. 3. Love the look of this new custom photo book service. 4. That’s one seriously hot look for fall. 5. The baby photo to make everyone go awwwww…...

As much as we love shopping and splurging and splurging some more, we are also big supporters of the thought that counts, especially when it comes to Father’s Day Gifts. So if you’re looking for an affordable but cool gift for dad under $20 to go along with a picnic in the park, breakfast in bed, or just some handmade cards and a day to himself to do…whatever, we’re hooking you up with some really neat ideas. We hope they all feel like actual gifts, not trinkets from the dollar store. Speaking of affordable gifts, we’re happy to welcome our...

A dad’s first Father’s Day may be the most special of all–if he can even remember it through the whirlwind of those early months. So for them, we present these Father’s Day gift ideas for new dads as part of our 2014 Father’s Day Gift Guide. They range from the sweet and sentimental to the “Wow, you got me what?” Just don’t forget a great card. First rule of Father’s Day: There always, always has to be a great card. (Because it’s totally fine to talk about Father’s Day.) And because we all adore the dads, granddads and stepdads in our lives so much, be sure to check...

We love teachers so much which is why we’re always excited to track down great ideas for teacher gifts from the class. After all, they give to our kids all day long without complaining (to us, anyway) about the runny noses they wipe, or the fifth round of lice to hit the school this year. With the school year wrapping up as we speak, if you haven’t started thinking about gifts from the class for your teacher yet we’ve got some great ideas, both new and from years past. One thing we’ve learned from talking to dozens of teachers over the...